A play with designs

Childhood inspiration

Amit Aggarwal is a man who plays with everything under the sun to tell a story with his collection. This time, the runway presented a walk down memory lane with his ‘i Cloud’ collection at the Amazon India Fashion Week SS’17.

With sequins, tiny pompoms in candy colours, coarse glitter and doll eyes, he added a fun element to the evening. In a tête-à-tête with Anila Kurian, he shares his inspirations and how one can look trendy this season.

Tell us about your latest collection...

The collection is called ‘i Cloud’ because it is something that we use today to store our fondest memories. I have designed the clothes accordingly to tell a story about some of my fondest memories. There are a few that you store in the ‘cloud’ that you don’t necessarily want to throw away. That was the motive of the collection.

What was your inspiration? 

My inspiration was my childhood. It reminds me of a simpler time where we were carefree and didn’t have so many responsibilities. It was the little things with faint memories that I wanted to recall through the collection.

Some of the unique additions you’ve used...

I’ve used recycled toy eyes which is something that we have all witnessed growing up. It brought back memories from the past. We’ve also used a lot of candy, glitter and confetti to express emotions. All of these are between two layers of fabric to represent the purpose of the cloud.

A compliment you received for the collection.

A friend of mine, a non-designer, came to view the collection a couple of days before the big day. He was enthralled by the little things that were added to bring out the story. It was important for someone other than my team to understand the story that we want to tell.

Your biggest challenge...

Flowers are one of the mundane things every designer uses. However, this was the first time that I have used them in any of my collections. I have used florals in the block prints for my design. We have also used interactive embroidery. You can actually play around with the clothes you’re wearing. Creating something like that was a challenge for me.

What’s the best part of being a designer? 

I love that I can create something out of nothing.

The most valuable lesson you learnt in the industry.

Humility. If you’re not humble, the inspiration streak does not flow.

The three must-haves this season...

A tunic or dress made with a casual and easy fabric. Crop tops with an embellished skirt or ‘lehenga’. If you’re daring enough, you can purchase a lehenga that you can wear with a white shirt later on. And bold lip colours to go with your outfit.